Selling car - declare finance in the ad or not?

thehappybutterfly

I have a letter from Ford Credit with the settlement figure. The plan is for the buyer to phone Ford Credit in my house - on speaker phone maybe? and make a payment to them over the phone, they confirm that the payment has gone through, the buyer then gives me the balance.

Or, I go to the bank with the buyer and they make a payment there and then. Or online on the laptop? There are loads of ways of doing it and like someone said, it's common enough that it doesn't worry the experienced buyer.

In answer to someone's comment about doing an HPI check, my registration is in the photo. I have nothing to hide so I didn't feel the need to photoshop it out.

I've had an enquiry today so that's good! I told him about the finance too. He's to speak to his wife and (hopefully) he'll come back to me. Fingers crossed!

JimmyTheWig

I wouldn't expect to see this in the ad.
I wouldn't run an HPI check on a car without speaking to the owner. (Don't you have to pay for those? The car may have gone already by now.)
But I think it should be one of the first things you say.

As to how you do it logistically I don't know. Would certainly put me off somewhat as I've never done it before.
I'd be on here asking if it was a scam!

colino

I'm sorry OP but, "I've got to speak to the wife" tends to mean no, but I don't have a spine so you'll build up your hopes of a sale.

thehappybutterfly

colino wrote: »

I'm sorry OP but, "I've got to speak to the wife" tends to mean no, but I don't have a spine so you'll build up your hopes of a sale.

Yeah I know! I use this quite often to get out of things "I'll need to have a chat with my hubby". Even though I make virtually all the decisions

We're resigned to only getting circa £5800 from a dealer/WBAC - if we can get a better offer from a private buyer, it's a bonus. It's not enough to clear the finance AND cover the cost of the banger but well, that's life isn't it?

eschaton

I wouldn't mention it in the advert as it would put me off.

But at the same time, once you did tell me about the finance I would walk away anyway. Not worth the hassle unless the car is an absolute bargain.

Jamie_Carter

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

I agree with the above...



Not really...

The car will have finance on it at the point of the money changing hands from the current owner to the new buyer... there will need to be a point where the money is given to the seller BUT the car will still be subject to finance (and therefore still owned by the finance company) until that amount is settled... the buyer would need to see a settlement confirmation to show that the debt is cleared.

How, as a private buyer, could you really make sure that you were not about to be ripped off / subject to a prolonged battle due to an admin error where the finance isn't settled correctly... or whatever other problem might occur in between?

The finance company will always have primacy over ownership of the vehicle until they issue the finance settlement papers - in my opinion, I would not take the risk PLUS who wants that hassle?

Part of the payment from the buyer goes directly to the finance company. There must be a way to set this up that protects the buyer, as it can't be the first time this has cropped up.

Jamie_Carter

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

I have a letter from Ford Credit with the settlement figure. The plan is for the buyer to phone Ford Credit in my house - on speaker phone maybe? and make a payment to them over the phone, they confirm that the payment has gone through, the buyer then gives me the balance.

Or, I go to the bank with the buyer and they make a payment there and then. Or online on the laptop? There are loads of ways of doing it and like someone said, it's common enough that it doesn't worry the experienced buyer.

In answer to someone's comment about doing an HPI check, my registration is in the photo. I have nothing to hide so I didn't feel the need to photoshop it out.

I've had an enquiry today so that's good! I told him about the finance too. He's to speak to his wife and (hopefully) he'll come back to me. Fingers crossed!

Yes you do need to photoshop it out. Cars are cloned like this on a regular basis, and then used for criminal activity. A friend of mine had special branch nearly break his door down once when his car was cloned, and the copy vehicle was used in an armed robbery.

fivetide

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

Yes you do need to photoshop it out. Cars are cloned like this on a regular basis, and then used for criminal activity. A friend of mine had special branch nearly break his door down once when his car was cloned, and the copy vehicle was used in an armed robbery.

Bit scaremongery there I think. Having sold many vehicles online I've never photoshopped the plate out and never had any issues. Given the plate is on the car it is just as likely to be cloned driving down the motorway as it is in an advert because you can't hide it then.

If you want to cover it up, feel free but it isn't a disaster if you don't.

Jamie_Carter

fivetide wrote: »

Bit scaremongery there I think. Having sold many vehicles online I've never photoshopped the plate out and never had any issues. Given the plate is on the car it is just as likely to be cloned driving down the motorway as it is in an advert because you can't hide it then.

If you want to cover it up, feel free but it isn't a disaster if you don't.

No it's not scaremongering. Take a look on Autotrader and see how many of the number plates are blanked out. They don't do this just for the fun of it.

I don't know why criminals are more likely to use vehicles that are advertised for sale. Maybe it is because they can search for a specific make model and colour, to match the one that they have just stolen. But it does happen on a regular basis.

fivetide

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

No it's not scaremongering.

We'll have to agree to disagree.

Take a look on Autotrader and see how many of the number plates are blanked out. They don't do this just for the fun of it.

I just did. Within 10 miles of my post code there are over 2000 cars for sale. On the first three pages only one had it's entire number plate out and that was at a dealer and had their logo on it. The other was a private sale and had half the plate blacked out.

After three pages and only one genuine blanking it wasn't difficult to conclude that the above is a wee bit of exageration.

I don't know why criminals are more likely to use vehicles that are advertised for sale. Maybe it is because they can search for a specific make model and colour, to match the one that they have just stolen. But it does happen on a regular basis.

You might want to back that up chap with some real stats.
The Met Police advice on this (endorsed by eBay, Autotrader et al) does not mention blanking out number plates at all http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/buying_selling_vehicles.htm

I do however agree that blanking gives and extra measure of safety but watch TV shows, even the cop ones and they rarely blank plates out before broadcasting to the nation. Again, I'm sure it does happen, just not in big numbers. You are more likely to find your advert cloned and your car being sold by someone in Spain who will arrange for their shipping etc as a scam.

If someone does clone a car you are selling it is the next owner that needs to worry not you though!